Professor of Psychology
Social, Cognition & Perception

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Research

My research concerns the question of how goals and plans affect cognition and behavior. It spans a number of areas in social psychology, cognition and perception, neuropsychology, and industrial and organizational psychology.

Four different theoretical concepts stimulate this research:

1) Mindsets

Deliberating which goals to pursue versus planning the implementation of set goals leads to different cognitive orientations (i.e., deliberative and implemental mindsets, respectively). We observed that the deliberative mindset leads to an accurate and impartial analysis of information that speaks to the feasibility and desirability of possible goals, whereas the implemental mindset promotes an optimistic and partial analysis of such information. Moreover, the deliberative mindset is associated with open-mindedness, whereas the implemental mindset is characterized by closed-mindedness.

We are currently investigating how deliberative and implemental mindsets differentially affect illusionary optimism and people’s search for information that relates to ongoing self-views. Moreover, we study how mindsets affect the strength of attitudes and the effectiveness of action control. Also, implicit ways of activating deliberative and implemental mindsets are explored.

2) Implementation Intentions

People can delegate the initiation of goal-directed behavior to environmental stimuli by forming so-called implementation intentions (if-then plans of the format: If situation x is encountered, then I will perform behavior y!). We observed that forming implementation intentions facilitates detecting, attending to, and recalling the critical situation. Moreover, in the presence of the critical situation the initiation of the specified goal-directed behavior is immediate, efficient, and does not need a conscious intent.

We are currently investigating whether forming implementation intentions can be used as an effective self-regulatory tool when it comes to resisting temptations, avoiding to stereotype members of an out-group, blocking unwanted goal pursuits triggered outside the person’s awareness or unwanted implicit perception-behavior effects. Moreover, it is analyzed whether action control via implementation intentions saves a person’s self-regulatory resources. We also ask whether implementation intentions protect a person’s thoughts and actions from unwanted influences of disruptive self-states (such as a good or bad mood, self-definitional incompleteness, feelings of anger or sadness).

Finally, we study whether and how implementation intentions help people meet their health goals (e.g., exercising more, eating less, taking pills regularly), whether people who are known to have problems with action control also benefit from implementation intentions (e.g., frontal lobe patients, schizophrenics, children with ADHD, alcoholics), and whether forming implementation intentions alleviates disruptive influences in negotiations between opposing parties.

3) Self-defining Goals

Committing oneself to a self-defining goal (e.g., becoming a good lawyer, mother, scientist) instigates an enduring striving towards possessing the desired outcome. We currently explore whether and how the self-defining goal of becoming an egalitarian person reduces stereotyping and prejudice, and whether effective suppression of stereotypes via such goals is void of rebound effects (i.e., subsequent stereotype activation). We also test whether sharing one’s behavioral intentions with others reduces the enactment of these intentions, given that such public intending may produce a sense of identity completeness.

4) Nonconscious Goal Pursuits

In a recent line of research we explore whether and how conscious goal pursuits differ from nonconscious goal pursuits. First, various problems of action control that demand flexibility rather than rigidity are identified and it is analyzed whether nonconscious goal pursuits are equally effective in solving these problems as conscious goal pursuits. Second, various cognitive, affective, and behavioral consequences of goal conflicts are identified and it is analyzed whether these can be observed for conscious and nonconscious goal pursuits alike. Third, we explore whether there is dissociation between the variables that determine a strong feeling of intending to reach a goal and the variables that predict successful goal attainment.

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Biography

Positions

Awards and Honors

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Selected Publications

Parks-Stamm, E. J., Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (in press). Making sense of one's actions in an explanatory vacuum: The interpretation of nonconscious goal striving. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Bayer, U. C., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Achtziger, A. (in press). Staying on track: Planned goal striving is protected from disruptive internal states. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

Gollwitzer, P. M., Gawrilow, C., & Oettingen, G. (in press). The power of planning: Effective self-regulation of goal striving. In R. Hassin, K. Ochsner, & Y. Trope (Eds.), Self-control in society, mind, and brain. Oxford University Press.

Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (in press). Strategies of setting and implementing goals: Mental contrasting and implementation intentions. In J. E. Maddux & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), Social psychological foundations of clinical psychology. New York: Guilford.

Wieber, F., Odenthal, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (in press). Self-efficacy feelings moderate implementation intention effects. Self and Identity.

Wieber, F., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (in press). Overcoming procrastination through implementation intentions. In C. Andreou, & M. D. White (Eds.), The thief of time: Perspectives on procrastination. New York: Oxford Press.

Mendoza, S. A., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Amodio, D. M. (in press). Reducing the expression of implicit stereotypes: Reflexive control through implementation intentions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Stadler, G., Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (in press). Intervention effects of information and self-regulation on eating fruits and vegetables over two years. Health Psychology.

Adriaanse, M. A., Oettingen, G., Gollwitzer, P. M., Hennes, E. P., de Ridder, D. T. D., & de Wit, J. B. F. (in press). When planning is not enough: Breaking unhealthy snacking habits with mental contrasting and implementation intentions. European Journal of Social Psychology.

Gollwitzer, P. M., Wieber, F., Meyers, A. L., & McCrea, S. M. (2010). How to maximize implementation intention effects on behavior? In C. R. Agnew, D. E. Carlston, W. G. Graziano, & J. R. Kelly (Eds.), Then a miracle occurs: Focusing on behavior in social psychological theory and research (pp. 137-167) New York: Oxford Press.

Parks-Stamm, E. J., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Oettingen, G. (2010). Implementation intentions and test anxiety: Shielding academic performance from distraction. Learning and Individual Differences.

Bargh, J. A., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Oettingen, G. (2010). Motivation. In S. Fiske, D. Gilbert, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (5th ed.). New York: Wiley.

Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2009). Embodied goal pursuit. European Journal of Social Psychology. 39, 1210-1213.

von Suchodoletz, A., Trommsdorff, G., Heikamp, T., Wieber, F., & Gollwitzer, P. M.  (2009). Transition to school: The role of kindergarten children's behavior regulation. Learning and Individual Differences, 19, 561-566.

Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2009). Embodied goal pursuit. European Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 1210-1213.

Faude-Koivisto, T., Würz, D., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2009). Implementation intentions: The mental representations and cognitive procedures of IF-THEN planning. In W. Klein & K. Markman (Eds.), The handbook of imagination and mental simulation (pp. 69-86). New York: Guilford.

Achtziger, A., Fehr, T., Oettingen, G., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Rockstroh, B. (2009). Strategies of intention formation are reflected in continuous MEG activity. Social Neuroscience, 4, 11-27.

Schweiger Gallo, I., Keil, A., McCulloch, K. C., Rockstroh, B., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2009). Strategic automation of emotion regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 11-31.

Gollwitzer, P. M., Parks-Stamm, E. J., & Oettingen, G. (2009). Living on the Edge: Shifting Between Nonconscious and Conscious Goal Pursuit. In Morsella, E., Bargh, J. A., & Gollwitzer, P. M.  (Eds.), Oxford handbook of human action (pp. 603 - 624). New York: Oxford University Press.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2009). Self-regulation of consumer decision making and behavior: The role of implementation intentions. Journal of Consumer Psychology. 19, 593-607.

Morsella, E., Bargh, J. A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (Eds.). (2009). Oxford handbook of human action. New York: Oxford University Press.

Parks-Stamm, E. J., & Gollwitzer, P. M.  (2009). Goal implementation: The benefits and costs of IF-THEN planning. In H. Grant & G. B. Moskowitz (Eds.), The big book of goals (pp. 362 - 391).  New York: Guilford.

Stadler, G., Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2009). Physical activity in women. Effects of a self-regulation intervention. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 36, 29-34.

Bayer, U. C., Achtziger, A., Gollwitzer, P. M. & Moskowitz, G. (2009). Responding to subliminal cues: Do if-then plans facilitate action preparation and initiation without conscious intent? Social Cognition, 27, 183-201.

Gollwitzer, P. M., Sheeran, P., Michalski, V., & Seifert, A. E. (2009). When intentions go public: Does social reality widen the intention-behavior gap? Psychological Science, 20, 612-618.

Gilbert, S., Gollwitzer, P. M., Cohen, A.-L., Oettingen, G., & Burgess, P. W. (2009). Separable brain systems supporting cued versus self-initiated realization of delayed intentions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 35, 905-15.

Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2009). Making goal pursuit effective: Expectancy-dependent goal setting and planned goal striving. In J. P. Forgas, R. Baumeister, & D. M. Tice (Eds.), The psychology of self-regulation: Cognitive, affective, and motivational processes (pp. 127-146). Philadelphia: Psychology Press.

Achtziger, A., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2008). Implementation intentions and shielding goal striving from unwanted thoughts and feelings. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 381-393.

Cohen, A.-L., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2008). The costs of remembering to remember: Cognitive load and implementation intentions influence ongoing task performance. In M. Kliegel, M. McDaniel, & G. Einstein (Eds.), Prospective memory: Cognitive, neuroscience, developmental, and applied perspectives (pp. 367-390). Mahwah, New Jersey: Erlbaum.

Cohen, A.-L., Jaudas, A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2008). Number of cues influences the cost of remembering to remember.  Memory & Cognition, 36, 149-156.

Cohen, A.-L., Bayer, U. C., Jaudas, A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2008). Self-regulatory strategy and executive control: Implementation intentions modulate task switching and Simon task performance. Psychological Research, 72, 12-26.

Gawrilow, C., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2008). Implementation intentions facilitate response inhibition in children with ADHD. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32, 261-280.

Gollwitzer, P. M., Parks-Stamm, E. J., Jaudas, A., & Sheeran, P. (2008). Flexible tenacity in goal pursuit. In J. Shah & W. Gardner (Eds.), Handbook of motivation science (pp. 325-341). New York: Guilford Press. 

Henderson, M. D., de Liver, Y., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2008). The effects of an implemental mind-set on attitude strength. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 396-411.

Oettingen, G., Sevincer, A. T., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2008). Goal pursuit in the context of culture. In R. Sorrentino & S. Yamaguchi (Eds.), The handbook of motivation and cognition across cultures (pp. 191-211). San Diego: Elsevier/Academic Press.

Bayer, C., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2007). Boosting scholastic test scores by willpower: The role of implementation intentions. Self and Identity, 6, 1-19.

Fujita, K., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Oettingen, G. (2007). Mind-sets and pre-conscious open-mindedness to incidental information. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 48-61.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Oettingen, G. (2007). The role of goal setting and goal striving in medical adherence. In D. C. Park & L. L. Liu (Eds.), Medical adherence and aging. Social and cognitive perspectives (pp. 23-47). Washington, D. C.: American Psychological Association.

Henderson, M. D., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Oettingen, G. (2007). Implementation intentions and disengagement from a failing course of action. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 20, 81-102.

Parks-Stamm, E., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Oettingen, G. (2007). Action control by implementation intentions: Effective cue detection and efficient response initiation. Social Cognition, 25, 248-266.

Paul, I., Gawrilow, C., Zech, F., Gollwitzer, P. M., Rockstroh, B., Odenthal, G., Kratzer, W., & Wienbruch, C. (2007). If-then planning modulates the P300 in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Neuro Report, 18, 653-657.

Perkins, M. B., Jensen, P. S., Jaccard, J., Gollwitzer, P. M., Oettingen, G., Pappadopulos, E., & Hoagwood, K. E. (2007). Applying theory-driven approaches to understanding and modifying clinicians' behavior: What do we know? Psychiatric Services, 58, 342-348.

Cohen, A.-L., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2006). If-then plans and the intentional control of thoughts, feelings, and action. In N. Sebanz & W. Prinz (Eds.), Disorders of volition (pp. 151-172). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Gollwitzer, P. M. (2006). Open questions in implementation intention research. Social Psychological Review, 8, 14-18.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69-119.

Oettingen, G., Grant, H., Smith, P. K., Skinner, M., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2006). Nonconscious goal pursuit: Acting in an explanatory vacuum. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42, 668-675.

Sheeran, P., Webb, T. L., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2006). Implementation intentions: Strategic automatisation of goal striving. In D. T. M. de Ridder & J. B. F. de Wit (Eds.), Self-regulation in health behavior (pp. 121-145). London: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 

Bayer, U. C., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2005). Mindset effects on information search in self-evaluation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35, 1-15.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Bargh, J. A. (2005). Automaticity in goal pursuit. In A. Elliot & C. Dweck (Eds.), Handbook of competence and motivation (pp. 624-646). New York: Guilford.

Gollwitzer, P. M., Bayer, U., & McCulloch, K. (2005). The control of the unwanted. In R. Hassin, J. Uleman, & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), The new unconscious (pp. 485-515). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Sheeran, P., Webb, T. L., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2005). The interplay between goal intentions and implementation intentions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 87-98.

Sheeran, P., Milne, S., Webb, T. L., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2005). Implementation intentions and health behaviour. In M. Conner & P. Norman (Eds.), Predicting health behaviour. Research and practice with social cognition models (2nd Ed., pp. 276-323). Berkshire, UK: Open University Press.

Gollwitzer, P. M., Fujita, K., & Oettingen, G. (2004). Planning and the implementation of goals. In  R. Baumeister & K. Vohs (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory and applications (pp. 211-228). New York: Guilford Press.

Kawada, C., Oettingen, G., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Bargh, J. A. (2004). The projection of implicit and explicit goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 545-559.

Aarts, H., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Hassin, R. (2004). Goal contagion: Perceiving is for pursuing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 23-37.

Gollwitzer, P. M. (2003). Why we thought that action mind-sets affect illusions of control. Psychological Inquiry, 14, 259-267.

Lengfelder, A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2001). Reflective and reflexive action control in patients with frontal lobe lesions. Neuropsychology, 15, 80-100.

Brandstaetter, V., Lengfelder, A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2001). Implementation intentions and efficient action initiation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 946-960.

Bargh, J. A., Gollwitzer, P. M., Chai, A. L., Barndollar, K., & Troetschel, R. (2001). The automated will: Nonconscious activation and pursuit of behavioral goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1014-1027.

Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54, 493-503.

Moskowitz, G. B., Gollwitzer, P. M., Wasel, W., & Schaal, B. (1999). Preconscious control of stereotype activation through chronic egalitarian goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 167-184.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Bayer, U. (1999). Deliberative versus implemental mindsets in the control of action. In S. Chaiken & Y. Trope (Eds.), Dual-process theories in social psychology (pp. 403-422). New York: Guilford.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Rohloff, U. B. (1999). The speed of goal pursuit. In R. S. Wyer (Ed.), Advances in social cognition (Vol. 12, pp. 147-159). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Kirchhof, O. (1998). The willful pursuit of identity. In J. Heckhausen & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), Life-span perspectives on motivation and control (pp. 389-423). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Schaal, B. (1998). Metacognition in action: The importance of implementation intentions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2, 124-136.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Oettingen, G. (1998). The emergence and implementation of health goals. Psychology and Health, 13, 687-715.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Brandstaetter, V. (1997). Implementation intentions and effective goal pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 186-199.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Bargh, J. A. (Eds.) (1996). The psychology of action: Linking cognition and motivation to behavior. New York: Guilford Press.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Moskowitz, G. B.(1996). Goal effects on action and cognition. In E. Higgins & A. W. Kruglanski (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (pp. 361-399). New York: Guilford Press.

Brunstein, J. C., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (1996). Effects of failure on subsequent performance: The importance of self-defining goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 395-407.

Taylor, S. E., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (1995). Effects of mindset on positive illusions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 213-226.

Gollwitzer, P. M. (1993). Goal achievement: The role of intentions. European Review of Social Psychology, 4, 141-185.

Gollwitzer, P. M. (1990). Action phases and mind-sets. In E. T. Higgins & R. M. Sorrentino (Eds.), The handbook of motivation and cognition: Foundations of social behavior (Vol. 2, pp. 53-92). New York: Guilford Press.

Gollwitzer, P. M., Heckhausen, H., & Steller, B. (1990). Deliberative vs. implemental mind-sets: Cognitive tuning toward congruous thoughts and information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 1119-1127.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Kinney, R. F. (1989). Effects of deliberative and implemental mind-sets on the illusion of control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 531-542.

Gollwitzer, P. M. (1986). Striving for specific identities: The social reality of self-symbolizing. In R. Baumeister (Ed.), Public self and private self (pp. 143-159). New York: Springer-Verlag.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Wicklund, R. A. (1985). Self-symbolizing and the neglect of others' perspectives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 702-715.

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Wicklund, R. A. (1985). The pursuit of self-defining goals. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 61-85). Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.

Wicklund, R. A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (1982). Symbolic self-completion. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.

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Address

Department of Psychology
New York University
6 Washington Place, Room 780
New York, NY 10003
Phone: (212) 998-7875
Fax: (212) 995-4966
Email: peter.gollwitzer@nyu.edu

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Updated